Millions of broadband users are at risk for a new kind of attack called drive-by pharming, which targets password weaknesses in the victim’s router, researchers from Symantec Corp. and Indiana University warned Thursday. The threat is greatest for those who don’t change their default passwords after using them to bring the router online. According to an informal study by Indiana University, up to 50% of home broadband users fail to reset the password after installing their router.

Billions of emails are sent around the globe each day but are their true meanings getting across? Maybe not. Although emails are quick and easy to send, their lack of facial cues, body language and emotional feedback mean they can be easily misinterpreted. Kristin Byron, of the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University in New York, believes that many email users could be sending and getting mixed messages in emails.

Windows Vista got off to a slow consumer start compared to its predecessor. U.S. retail Vista sales were significantly less than Windows XP during their respective launch weeks. NPD released sales figures for software that end users install themselves on a computer. Windows Vista unit sales decreased 58.9 percent in units compared to Windows XP during their respective launch weeks, while revenue decreased 32.1 percent.

Class counsel and Microsoft jointly announced that a settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit that alleged violations of the Iowa Competition Law. The terms of the settlement are not being disclosed pending preliminary court approval, which is expected in April. The settlement concludes the seven-year case and will provide compensation to individuals and businesses that purchased specified operating system and application software including Word, Excel and Office from May 18, 1994, through June 30, 2006. Details for making claims will be announced this spring.

Charges have been dropped against a Russian school principal who faced up to five years in prison for software piracy, according to Russia’s state news agency. Alexander Ponosov, 40, was charged with violating Russia’s copyright law after police seized 12 computers from his school in the western Russian village of Vereschagino. Police say the PCs contained more than US$10,000 in pirated Microsoft Corp. software, but Ponosov claims he bought the computers with the software preinstalled and has maintained his innocence.

Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said on Thursday analysts’ forecasts for revenue from Windows Vista in fiscal 2008 were "overly aggressive." Ballmer’s comments come two weeks after the world’s largest software maker released Vista, the upgrade to its ubiquitous Windows operating system, and predicted that consumers will move to Vista faster than past Windows upgrades.

Microsoft has warned that hackers may already be exploiting a new vulnerability found in the company’s Word and Office programs. The warning comes just after the company issued fixes for 20 other bugs in its products on Tuesday, including six for Word. The latest problem affects Office 2000 and Office XP, Microsoft said in a security advisory on Wednesday. Attackers could create a specially crafted Word document that, if opened, could allow them to control a victim’s computer remotely. As usual, the company advised great caution when opening unsolicited attachments.

Xandros introduced BridgeWays, a new software suite for IT administrators that enables Windows-to-Linux server and desktop integration and management, and deployment of systems that mix Linux, Unix and Windows platforms, according to the company.

Microsoft is accusing rival IBM of orchestrating a campaign to block efforts to standardize Office document formats. In an open letter released Wednesday, Microsoft executives contend that IBM is trying to influence the standards process to limit choice. It also said that IBM is encouraging governments to mandate a document format that IBM favors.

StyleEase Software has announced the release of a Word 2007 version of their popular academic formatting software. StyleEase products address the needs of students who are required to submit written work in specific formats, including APA (American Psychological Association) style, MLA (Modern Language Association) style, Chicago/Turabian style, and Seminary style. StyleEase works right in Word, automating the creation and formatting of academic paper, and simplifying the entire writing process, from design of the title page to inserting reference entries.